Elder Harrison Adams 1-25-16 Morehead City, NC

Well this week has flown by right quick! 

Morehead city is a pretty cool area, so far I like it a lot. Of course I'm still not really familiar with the area, but over these next few weeks I'm excited to learn all about it. The people here are also really great. We chum. 

But y'all wouldn't believe how cold it's gotten here recently! Luckily we only got very few flakes of snow, but this morning our car was iced over and so we had to spend a good time unthawing and scraping off the ice. We used our missionary plaques to scrape off the ice, because we didn't have an ice-scraper. They worked like a jewel! 

Well, I guess I should probably tell y'all a little about my area. So we cover a huge area. Including many places that I've  been before. Of course we cover Morehead city, also Beaufort, Emerald Isle, Harkers Island, and most of the southern half of the Outer Banks. We also cover places like Atlantic Beach, Newport (which is different from Newport News), and a few other cities. So far I have not had a chance to go over to Emerald Isle, but we are going there tonight to have dinner with the Crandall family. 

It's a little different serving here in an English ward. Instead of translating from Spanish to English, we translated from English to Spanish. I personally think it's easier to go from English to Spanish because you understand everything that is being said, and can then change it to relay the same message using the Spanish that you know. Although at first I felt really weird doing it, I caught on pretty fast.

So here in Morehead, we live with an older lady named Ida Lewis. She has a little section of her house that she lets us live in. She's fairly old, I believe she is eighty eight years old. We are always helping her out, getting her mail, taking out her trash, and small little things like that. Also this morning she was really sick, so we went over and gave her a priesthood blessing. It's nice because we have constant service to do here. 

I'm gonna give yall my new direction so that yall can actually get letters and such to the right place! So my address is:

Elder Harrison Adams
925 N. Yaupon Terrace
Morehead City, NC 28557

While it is great to be here, I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss Newport News. There is a thing on the mission called "first area homesickness," and I am really starting to feel that.

This week we've also been really blessed in finding people to teach. We taught a little over thirty lessons this past week, so we have kept really busy! We have a few people that are getting close to baptism, so that will be fun to continue working with them.

Before I ride out the donkey, I just thought it would be fun to share some fun experiences I have had so far. Down here people have a different way of speaking, and sadly it's already starting to change thee way I talk! Haha. I almost wish I had stayed at the MTC another week to learn how to speak southern, because there have been some times where I have no idea what in the world someone is saying. And they're speaking to me in English. But I've picked up a few phrases here and there, and it's kind of surprising how fast they've already caught on. 

They also deep fry EVERYTHING here. Twinkies, any kind of meat, any kind of seafood, literally anything you could possibly imagine. This week I had deep fried chicken liver from KFC. Now I'm not positive. But I'm pretty sure they don't sell deep friend chicken liver in the KFC's in Utah.

Well we got to get going, we have a fun day planned out ahead of us. We haven't decided quite yet what we're going to do. There are a lot of things here. We might go to Atlantic Beach, the Aquarium, or we might go see the Black Beard museum and his house. I'll be sure to tell y'all about it next week! 

Hasta luego! 

Elder Harrison Adams 1-19-16 Newport News, VA

Hello family and friends!

First off I will just give brief transfer logistics. Elder Berry is staying in Newport News and is going to get a new companion, and also train a new missionary. Elder Martinez will be going down to Kinston, NC where he will be companions with Elder Edwards again. I will be going down to Morehead City, NC where I will be companions with Elder Mickelson. He was my MTC companion so it will be really exciting to be with him again! 

 Also, I am as far North as I can possibly go in my mission. Morehead City is as far south as I could go in my mission, so I will be going on opposite ends of my mission! With that, I will be driving tomorrow a little over six hours to get to Morehead City. With the meetings we will have and other things we will do before, I won't arrive in Morehead City about until 8:00 at night.

So this week at church I was planning on taking pictures with all of the members that I love so dearly, however unfortunately that didn't happen. While in ward council, our services got cancelled due to the heavy snow that was falling. Sadly, I only was able to get pictures with the members that were at ward council. However, I don't think I could ever forget the people here.

That's really all for this week. I'll be sure to include all of the photos that I have.

Love, Elder Adams

Hermana Castillo y su niña Marisol.

Sister Catillo and her daughter Marisol.

Las niñas de la familia Hernandez.

The Hernandez family girls.

Hermano Faustino (y Hermana Chavez atrás).

Sister Faustino (and Sister Chavez behind)

La familia Hernandez.

Nuestro presidente de rama, Presidente Ojeda.

Our branch president, Preside Ojeda.

La familia McCoy.

Hermano Justin (le gusta levanter pesas).

Brother Justin (he likes lifting weights).

Nuestro distrito.

Our district.

Hermana Wilson.

La familia Wilson.

La familia Herrera (de Honduras).

Nemo.

La familia Matinez (en Newport News)

Elder Harrison Adams 1-11-16 Newport News, VA

Hello!

This week has been a good week. It had a rocky start, because I was sick all of Tuesday. We had to stay home because I was feeling so sick. But luckily the next day I felt better, and we were able to go right to work!

Just a little bit of news that has been going on here...so recently ICE (the immigration police) has been going around knocking doors to try and find illegals that are living here. Of course, this has made our job ten times harder. If we don't know someone really well, it's almost impossible to get in their door. There is an environment here of panic and fear, not only with our investigators but also with our branch members. So because of this, knocking doors has been absolutely useless this week. We didn't have a whole lot of lessons because of this. It's sad, because if the parents get deported they have to leave their kids here. They practically become orphans.

Some other big news, our most solid investigator and her husband lost their jobs this week. Because of this, they couldn't afford their rent and had to move. They moved down to Norfolk. But we were able to pass them off to the missionaries there, and they should be getting baptized within the next two weeks!

We also had our other investigator, Don Rafa, come to church for the third time! He still has problems with being baptized again, but we are working with him slowly and surely. He doesn't believe the Catholic Church has authority, but his big problem is that his parents baptized him. And he feels like being baptized again would denounce and disrespect his parents. 

This week we also had probably the best lesson of my entire mission. We were knocking some doors in a trailer park, and a man walking on the street walked by and said hi to us. Of course, we went over and did what missionaries do, ask if there is a time that we could share a message with him. He said another day when he had time he would love to. We continued knocking. We got a few doors slammed in our faces, cussed out once or twice, and I was starting to get discouraged.  We were walking back to leave, when we came across this man again! He said a little bit of time just opened up in his day, and we could stop by right then. We went to his house, and met his roommate. We taught both of them the Restoration. Turns out, they were both looking for a church to go to. They have had rough lives, but were looking to change. During the lesson, they even recognized that they were feeling the Spirit! After we went over the first vision with one of them, he stopped and said "this is right. I know it is. I have chills right now." We set them both with baptism dates, and left. Sadly we won't be able to teach them anymore, because they only speak English. But we passed them off to the English Elders, who taught them three times in the next two days, and had them both at church this past Sunday. They are excited to get baptized and are already making changes in their lives.

Well I think it's about time to have a few laughs. So I will tell the funny stories that happened this week. This happened actually a few weeks ago, but I forgot to write about it. We were over at our branch mission leader's house, and we were going to help him put some pieces of wood down in his attic. We all got up in the attic, then started to walk on the trusses avoiding the drywall. Well. Elder Martinez didn't know you can't step on drywall, so within the first ten seconds of being in the attic he took a step on drywall expecting a solid floor. Half of his body fell through the roof, and he barely caught himself on the trusses before his whole body fell through the ceiling! His kids below were watching the television, and when he fell through the ceiling we just heard them scream at the top of their lungs. I still get a small smile trying to picture it from their perspective. Watching tv, then out of nowhere half a body falls through the ceiling above their heads. Haha. Elder Martinez luckily didn't get hurt too badly, he just got a big bruise on his side for a while.

One more funny story…two days ago we were in a lesson. We finished with a prayer, and got up to leave. Then Elder Berry started heading for the door. Elder Martinez and I tried to warn him...but he continued on and opened the door. Well. He went to the wrong door. Even our investigator burst out laughing when Elder Berry opened the door. The door to the closet.

This week has been a lot better than the last. Lots of laughs and hard work. That's what I've found is key for happiness and success. Hard work, and having fun while doing it.

That's all for this week. I love you all so much. Thank you for everything y’all have done and continue to do for me.

-Elder Adams

Photo texted to us by a branch member on Sunday 1-10-16.
Elder Martinez, Elder Berry, and Elder Adams

The sister missionaries in their branch made a Christmas card identical to the one Elder Adams and his companions made.  Pretty funny!



Zone picture.

Elder Harrison Adams 1-4-16 Newport News, VA

Hello family and friends,

This week has been pretty rough for us here. It has gotten really cold, so we have to bundle up in several layers. Even though the temperature isn't super low here, the humidity really plays a part in how cold it is! It feels like your jackets don't do anything for you.

It's also been hard because we had a very rough beginning of the week. We had a lot of set appointments with our good investigators, and almost all of them cancelled or just weren't there. Also, yesterday before church, we were able to stop by six of our investigators. They all said that they were excited to go to church, and that they were going to be there. Well. Church started. More and more people came. But none of our investigators. Our service started. And I was praying with all my heart that one of our investigators would show up. Sadly no one did. This week has been tough in that regard. We've put in so much work. We're trying our hardest. Not a day goes by where we don't collapse on our beds from exhaustion. But right now it's hard to see the reward for our work. I know that really this is all in God's hands. I have a strong testimony about that. I also know that what I'm doing here is right. And even if I can't see the fruit of my labor. It doesn't mean I am wasting my time. Sometimes I just need to remind myself of that during the week.

I know that if we have faith in Jesus Christ, the hardest, as well as the easiest times in life will be a blessing. Even in this hard work, I have found joy through the simple miracles of Christ that continue today.

Well, it also is a new year, and my birthday today. Honestly, it doesn't feel like it at all. I still feel like it's 2015! And a birthday on a mission is nothing special. It's really just a normal day, except you get to open a few presents! The mission really is a lifestyle. Work work work! That doesn't mean however that I don't love it. I love this work, I love the Lord, and I love you all.

Happy New Years!

 

A little picture a girl drew of me and Elder Martinez on a bus.